Moving has been the biggest barrier to my friendships. Growing up in a military family, I moved around more than the average child. While fellow Air Force families were stationed in Japan and Germany, we received orders to Oklahoma and Ohio. Possibly one of the smallest towns in America, Altus, Ohio, offered very little. However, the people made the place.
What really broke my heart when my mom told me we were leaving was not the uprooting to a new place. It was leaving my friends behind. They added that extra in front of those ordinary places. As much as one promises to stay in contact, it is easier said than done.
This lesson did not occur to me until I left Oklahoma. Of course, I was not named 'Most Popular' in high school. (I did get Best Smile once, and I take great pride in that achievement). Though, it was easy to know everyone considering my entire school had a population of 400 students. At the time, leaving this town was the roughest.
I moved to the little, country town before my fifth-grade year and left after my first year in high school. I spent a large portion of my life growing up here. It was when I first started establishing friendships that would live past a change in school year.
It was here I met my first, lifelong best friend, Lexie. I knew it was meant to be when we both wore the exact same pink, flowery shirt from Target on the first day of sixth grade. That is why when my mother told me we would be moving during the middle of my high school career, my 16-year-old self was devastated.
It is inevitable.
It begins with the flood of "I miss you" texts and FaceTime calls. Then, it lessens to the frequent social media comments. After that, it is down to an occasional 'like' on your most recent post. As much as you reassure each other it will not come down to this, it does. I am all too familiar with this cycle. Of course, that is the struggle of long-distance friendships.
It requires work from both ends. I realized I cannot hold it against someone for not being able to carry the same friendship as before. People grow apart. That lesson hit me hard after each move. Yet, it has taught me so much. It is what prepared me for the transition into college.
Every once in a while, there is the exception.
The exception texts you to catch up and follows through with it. When you talk, it is as if nothing has changed. They order you hot chocolate all the way from Ohio; the exception is Jugad. They call you randomly when they are driving just to hear your voice; the exception is Mehga. They FaceTime you just to make fun of one another; the exception is Mackenzie and Katie. They reach out to you even when their life is at its craziest; the exception is Rachael. They fully intend to follow through with those childhood plans to be in each other's weddings; the exception is Lexie. The exception makes long distance worthwhile.
